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Post by Kapitan on Dec 2, 2021 14:26:55 GMT
Does it ever strike you as odd how many famous musicians, actors, artists, and writers set out to become actors, artists, writers, and musicians? After all, you don't see many rock stars deciding to do astronomy or mathematics on the side (Brian May and Robert Schneider notwithstanding), much less astronomers deciding to write novels or do modern dance.
In other words, it seems that many successful people in creative fields seem to leap to other creative fields more than other people do. Examples are numerous and era-spanning: Ricky Nelson, all of the Monkees, Lana Del Rey, Bob Dylan, Janelle Monae, Billy Bob Thornton, Carla Bruni, Johnny Depp, Craig Finn (the Hold Steady), Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Martin Mull, Miley Cyrus, Jared Leto, Tom Hanks, Milla Jovovich, Scarlett Johannson, Paul Stanley, Leonard Cohen, John Darnielle, Olivia Rodrigo, Kevin Bacon… If leaping genres from pop to “serious” (i.e. “classical”) counts, you could add Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead. These are just a few off the top of my head. Some have relative success in their secondary outlets; many (most?) do not. Why do you think that is? Do creative people see connections between different arts, feeling capable across disciplines? Or are they simply self-indulgent fame whores, oblivious to their shortcomings in their secondary pursuits? Who are some examples of people who are truly talented in several artistic fields? Who are some whose secondary fields are embarrassingly bad? What’s your reaction when you hear Singer X wants to be an actor, or Actor X wants to be an author?
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 2, 2021 14:34:07 GMT
By the way, the moment I posted that, more examples started popping into my head! Tom Waits, Dee Snider, Sebastian Bach, Henry Rollins, to name a few more.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 2, 2021 14:53:42 GMT
Janet Jackson, Ice-T, Ice Cube, Eminem, Dennis Wilson, Kris Kristofferson, Queen Latifah, Gene Simmons, Madonna.
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Post by kds on Dec 2, 2021 15:43:24 GMT
I can't say it's too surprising that musicians want to branch out into other forms of art.
The Wahlburgs - Donnie and Mark - made a pretty good transition from music to acting.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 2, 2021 17:39:19 GMT
How about Jim Morrison, Poet. He did publish a few books of poetry while he was still alive. I'm not a poetry expert so I can't comment on the quality, but I've read them and they are indeed...poetic. Also, Jim studied Cinematography at UCLA and made one film (Feast Of Friends) during his Doors' tenure. Many Morrison aficionados think that Jim would've eventually moved into films in some capacity had he lived.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 2, 2021 18:14:53 GMT
I just keep thinking of more and more. I mean to actually discuss this stuff, but instead I just keep having flashes of "oh, what about X?"
Cher, Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, Jon Bon Jovi, Sammy Davis Jr, Dwight Yoakam, Bette Midler, Elvis Presley, Patti Smith, Steve Martin...
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 2, 2021 18:20:01 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 2, 2021 18:27:50 GMT
It's funny how many scenarios you can see as general pathways to this multidisciplinary success (or at least attempts).
You've got writers, people who write songs and decide to write poems (or vice versa), or books. And some of them are quite good. Is anyone shocked that Bob Dylan's "Chronicles" was pretty good? If anything, I'm surprised he didn't write more. Yet instead he has done more painting and photography outside of music. Leonard Cohen's novels are both pretty good, I think, and of course he was known as a poet. John Darnielle (the Mountain Goats) was known for his lyrics before turning to novels, and his debut was short-listed for the prestigious National Book Award.
You've got what, for lack of a better term, I'll call "song-and-dance men." You know, old-time entertainers. People who could be in a musical. Those are the kinds of people who, of course, are going to be actors, singers, etc. Sinatra and Sammy Davis and Bette Midler are older examples, but now you could look to anything from child stars (Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera, etc.) to American Idol types (Vanessa Hudgens) to even some unconventional rock stars like Paul Stanley, Sebastian Bach, and others who went to Broadway.
You've got people who go from music into acting, but are really just playing themselves. Eminem in "8 Mile" is one good example (or taking it out of music, Penny Hardaway and Shaq in "Blue Chips" back in the 90s). The roles don't require a lot of range.
But then you see the obvious vanity projects. Prince, for example, might be among the worst actors I've ever seen. But when you're on top of your world, who tells you no?
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Post by kds on Dec 2, 2021 18:31:48 GMT
Where would the likes of The Blues Brothers (Dan Akyroyd and John Belushi) or Spinal Tap (Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, and Michael McKean) fit in?
These were basically fictional music acts that became...kinda real? They released albums, they played shows, etc.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 2, 2021 18:35:07 GMT
Where would the likes of The Blues Brothers (Dan Akyroyd and John Belushi) or Spinal Tap (Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, and Michael McKean) fit in? These were basically fictional music acts that became...kinda real? They released albums, they played shows, etc. The Monkees kind of fit that category, as well. Not exactly the same--they used their actual professional names, anyway--but they were created as a fictional group, basically, but became more a band than a TV show, I'd say. That's their legacy anyway.
Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus) actually fits that, too. Before Cyrus toured as herself, she toured as her fictional character. And I remember when she toured as both, doing a set as each person. Which is weird...
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 2, 2021 18:37:32 GMT
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Post by kds on Dec 2, 2021 18:40:56 GMT
Where would the likes of The Blues Brothers (Dan Akyroyd and John Belushi) or Spinal Tap (Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, and Michael McKean) fit in? These were basically fictional music acts that became...kinda real? They released albums, they played shows, etc. The Monkees kind of fit that category, as well. Not exactly the same--they used their actual professional names, anyway--but they were created as a fictional group, basically, but became more a band than a TV show, I'd say. That's their legacy anyway.
Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus) actually fits that, too. Before Cyrus toured as herself, she toured as her fictional character. And I remember when she toured as both, doing a set as each person. Which is weird...
Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees came a fairly random cameo appearance as a gun shop owner in Rob Zombie's Halloween II. Oh, Rob Zombie - industrial metal musician turned filmmaker.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 2, 2021 18:45:07 GMT
I forgot an obvious one, in that he was a huge star in both: Will Smith, aka "the Fresh Prince." It's sometimes hard to remember he actually was known as a rapper first.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 2, 2021 18:47:08 GMT
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Post by kds on Dec 2, 2021 19:06:14 GMT
More recently, McKenna Grace, the teenage star of Ghostbusters Afterlife (among other things) has a song on that movie's soundtrack.
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